Britain ignores EU’S demands over Brexit bill

THE Government continued to refuse to show its hand over the so-called “Brexit bill” yesterday as it published three more papers giving details of its position on nuclear, justice and other matters – but ignored EU demands for clarity on payments.

The refusal to publicly address the question of money ahead of next week’s talks in Brussels has frustrated Michel Barnier, the EU’S chief Brexit negotiator, who this week demanded further information from the UK.

Senior sources in the British negotiating team said the decision reflected the failure of the EU to offer legal clarity on the basis for its demands for a gross financial settlement approaching €100 billion.

“We honestly don’t recognise these numbers that the EU are throwing around,” the source said.

The three papers published yesterday cover the UK’S membership of Euratom, the EU atomic agency; the rights of EU officials in the UK after Brexit; and what happens to cases pending at the European Court of Justice.

The papers made clear that the UK will quit Euratom, ignoring pleas from Tory rebels to retain associate membership of the body and proposing an equivalent UK regime.